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Medtronic Settles Whistleblower Lawsuit

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FRIDLEY, Minn. (AP) — Medical device maker Medtronic Inc. will pay the U.S. Department of Justice $9.9 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the company of giving doctors gifts in return for using its defibrillators and pacemakers.

Medtronic has not admitted any wrongdoing as a result of the settlement. The lawsuit unsealed this week accused Medtronic of funneling “millions of dollars in unrestricted grant money to physicians” to get them to encourage the use of Medtronic defibrillators and pacemakers in patients whose “mild heart failure symptoms did not meet criteria for an implantable device.”

The settlement is the result of a whistleblower complaint filed by a former Medtronic employee, Adolfo Schroeder. The Department of Justice says Schroeder will receive about $1.7 million.